We are trained from an early age to believe that youth is beauty and age is not. Read the excellent @PhilippaPerry in The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jan/08/ask-philippa-perry-i-hate-my-ageing-body-why-do-i-look-at-myself-with-disgust

There was no fall that year - there was nothing left to fall. In spring the garden was crawling with millions (?billions) of the newly emerged shiny, metallic blue predators. The trees did not bud; I thought they were dead. After about a month the beetles either died off or flew away to better pasture. Then, very slowly, the Alder buds started to unfurl, much later than usual. Just a few at first - testing the environment - then a sudden rush when they realised it was 'safe'. Clever, huh? 😊

Been listening to @botanygeek on Radio 4 "Is it wrong to eat plants?" where he speaks to Suzanne Simard author of the fascinating book 'Finding the Mother Tree'. There is no doubt that plants are 'smarter' than we think (depending on how we measure intelligence) as I can confirm from my own experience when the Alder trees in our paddock were devastated by Alder Leaf Beetle in 2021.......

If most overseas students return to their home countries and are benefiting the economy while they are here why are they included in immigration statistics.

Surely they should only be included if they stay here after the end of their study period.

#Immigration

As a Brit, I have been fascinated by all the pictures of #Thanksgiving #dinner. Common themes seem to be :
Turkey (or veggie equivalent)
Mashed potato - not roast? 😢
Stuffing /dressing
Gravy
Corn / squash / sweet potato
and weird things like green bean casserole and macaroni - what's that all about? 🤣
Thanks for posting, and hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving 💛

What I really need is James O'Brien and all the Guardian journalists to move onto here and then I can probably leave the birdsite for good. #riptwitter

@Moocher You've done better than me then 🤣 #birdsite #junkie

@johnfranklinwalker It's a fascinating subject, Bob. I've probably forgotten most of what I ever learned (and I've done many unrelated jobs) but 'Geologist' is what's going on my death certificate 🤣 Chris x

@kirsty Good luck with your studies, Kirsty, geology is God's own subject! Of course, it's changed an awful lot since I graduated - plate tectonics was a revolutionary new theory then 🤣 I envy you with it all still before you. Chris x

@knittingknots@mastodon.sociaYeah, I thought so too!

@gspeng That one looks really great for a mobile 😍

@johnfranklinwalker Me too! It's been many, many years since my geology degree 😂

Want to know a little bit about the #geology where you live? Zoom in on Macrostrat (or use the search box) - tells you about the bedrock, fossils etc. Amazing!
https://macrostrat.org/map/#x=16&y=23&z=2

#pterosaurs were flying reptiles, whose ancestors taxonomically split from what would become #dinosaurs around the start of the #Triassic period. Pterosaurs were the first non-insect animals to evolve powered flight.

In our Pterosaur case you can see wing bones which were found in Stonesfield, just a few km from the #museum. There is also a wonderfully preserved Pterosaur claw from #oxford in a case just to the left of the African elephant. Let us know if you find them. Happy #fossil hunting!

Scotland has some of the oldest rocks in the world! Here’s a gorgeous piece of ~3 billion year old gneiss from near Loch Duich 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🖤 #Geology #ScottishGeology #AyeItsVeryGneiss

I miss the gentle light of summer evenings, the fuzzy hum of insects gathering nectar and scent of flowers all around me. I wanted to write something poetic about the winter months ahead, but no, I just miss summer and my favourite time of year - 'the pause'. The pause is when the air hangs warm and heavy with scent, insects and colour. When warmth reflects back up at us from the ground and abundance surrounds us. Photo by Huw Richards. #gardening #garden #summer #mentalhealth #SAD #goldenhour

Here's a little taste of our big summer concert - hundreds of singers from around the world performing a choral (Drayton arrangement) of Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, featuring Charles Mutter on violin and vocal solos by Fieri Consort, conducted by Ben England BEM and videography by Marc Siese. And here's the full video: https://youtu.be/8_goCeCg1sw?t=1866 @classicalmusic #classicalmusic #choir #choralmusic #onlinechoir #digitalchoir #rvw150 #ralphvaughanwilliams #thelarkascending

Scruffbeast #DogsOfMastodon #JackRussell

The sky this morning predicted rain and it was correct.

Eigg isn't connected to the UK national grid. Instead we generate 90% to 95% of our electricity from wind, sun, & water (hydro). Community-owned Eigg Electric was switched on in 2008. Islanders are trained and employed to manage it. Electricity costs 28p per unit/kWh. Before 2008 each property had its own diesel generator. Now we have 24kW of wind, 110kW of hydro, 170kW of solar PV, storage batteries, and a back up generator. Next challenge is #netzero #renewables #eigg http://isleofeigg.org/eigg-electric/